ODA Chairman Sir John Armitt to report on business benefits of London 2012 construction project
Report will identify lessons learnt to help British firms
The construction of the Olympic Park can be a blueprint for future British construction success, said Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt today as he announced that he has commissioned Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chairman Sir John Armitt to draw up an action plan to share the lessons of the Park’s on-time-on-budget building programme.
Mr Hunt believes that the Olympic Park project is a template for delivering large-scale construction projects and that sharing the lessons of its success will help British businesses win more lucrative contracts around the world.
Around 1,500 businesses in the UK won 98 per cent of the Park’s construction contracts, totalling more than £6 billion. Thousands more businesses won contracts on top of that through the supply chains, again generating work and creating jobs.
Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt said:
“London 2012 has undoubtedly been good for British business. But the key to long term economic success from the Games is not about a Keynesian boost in difficult times. Instead, we need to ensure that the companies who built the Olympic Park, and others, learn from the experience of London 2012, exploit the global spotlight, and go on to bigger and better things in the future. I hope that Sir John’s report will pave the way for British businesses after 2012 and help secure a long term economic legacy for UK plc.”
Sir John Armitt, said:
“London 2012 has been a showcase for the best of British construction and engineering. It has set new standards - delivering against an immovable deadline, thanks to a truly collaborative approach, with an impressive record of industrial harmony, employment opportunities and workplace safety. Building on the work already carried out by ODA in developing the Learning Legacy website as an industry resource for best practice, this report will help UK companies to learn from what has been achieved and reap the benefits of future projects at home and abroad, whether or not they have been involved in the 2012 Games.”
The report will focus on the 1,500 businesses which won direct contracts from the ODA. It will include lessons learnt from the delivering the Olympic construction programme and details of new business wins and jobs created including contracts with the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014 and the summer Games in Rio 2016.
The report will be completed in this spring, ahead of the British Business Embassy at Lancaster House that UKTI will run through the Olympic Games period to promote British business.
Notes to Editors
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The report will be written by Sir John Armitt with assistance from the ODA.
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On each day of the Olympics UKTI’s British Business Embassy will host a programme of events focusing on a different high growth sector each day. Over the course of the Games the British Business Embassy and associated events will give more than 3,500 UK-based companies the chance to showcase their capabilities to key overseas CEOs, buyers, influencers and decision makers.
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A number of initiatives have been developed to help businesses as a result of London 2012. The ODA’s Learning Legacy project is sharing the knowledge and the lessons learned from the construction of the Olympic Park, to help raise the bar within the sector. The UKTI has set up the Host 2 Host programme to create links and share best practice with future host cities of major sporting events. This programme capitalises on the UK’s shared status as a host nation to develop further trading links and investment opportunities.
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